1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera, and specifically relates to a digital camera provided with a refractive optical system including a refraction element such as a mirror in a photographic optical system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the film used in silver halide cameras cannot be used in digital cameras which electronically record image signals converted by an image sensing element, the film magazine, spool compartment, and film feeding mechanism are unnecessary, thereby increasing the freedom of layout of the image sensing optical system. Furthermore, digital cameras have been proposed, which are provided with a refractive optical system having a refraction means such as a mirror or the like within the optical system, and an image sensing element is disposed on the focusing surface of the optical system, so as to decrease the thickness of the digital camera in the front-to-back direction.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-10165 discloses an electronic camera provided with a refractive optical system arranged in a notched part of an electric circuit board disposed at the center inside a flat-shaped body and further arranged parallel to the front surface of the body, and provided with a battery compartment arranged in a perpendicular direction at a side of the refractive optical system.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H11-220646 discloses an electronic camera provided with a refractive optical system. A strobe printed circuit board is disposed behind a mirror included in the refractive optical system. This circuit board is larger than the mirror, and is simply positioned behind the mirror, as shown in FIG. 4 of the disclosure.
In recent years compact cameras have been viewed as important, and the efficient arrangement of the structural parts of the camera has become an issue, however, since the cameras disclosed in the above publications provide the refractive optical system in the center of a body and other structural parts are overlaid on the refractive optical system in the thickness direction of the body, the structural parts of the cameras cannot be arranged efficiently, and the cameras are large in size.